HS GIRLS BASKETBALL REPORT: Lee looking good as second half of 3-6A play starts

Will Korn|wkorn@mrt.com

Published 4:16 pm, Monday, January 26, 2015

Photo: James Durbin

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Lee High's Allison Valdez (2) takes the ball down the court against Abilene High on Friday at Chaparral Center. James Durbin/Reporter-Telegram

Lee High's Allison Valdez (2) takes the ball down the court against Abilene High on Friday at Chaparral Center. James Durbin/Reporter-Telegram

Photo: James Durbin

HS GIRLS BASKETBALL REPORT: Lee looking good as second half of 3-6A play starts

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The Lee girls basketball team is on a roll right now, having won eight of its last 10 games after beginning the year 5-7. A major component to this surge is the development of the team’s chemistry, which was lacking earlier in the season. Lee head coach Monica Ramirez says her team has grown together of late and it’s showing.

“The girls seem to be coming together a little better, and I mean on every level, not just on the basketball court,” Ramirez said. “I’m starting to see a lot of things with the way they’re doing things in class, out of class, at lunch, out of school. So the chemistry is coming together.”

The Lady Rebels cleared what will almost certainly be their biggest hurdle of the district season, when they defeated archrival Midland High, 57-49, last Tuesday at Chaparral Center.

Lee stuck to its hustle and speed game, and when it needed its star backcourt of Bri’An Washington and Daija Stanford to step up, they did. Washington led all scorers with 20 points, sinking a number of critical free throws late to seal the win, while Stanford scored from all over the court, adding 18 points in support.

Then on Friday night, Lee smacked Abilene High, 83-35, on the strength of Washington’s red-hot shooting night that netted her a game-high 25 points. Abilene will very likely end up being the fourth-seeded playoff team from 3-6A, but it was no match at all for Lee’s blistering pace and aggressiveness. With that win, the Lady Rebels moved to 5-0 in district play and 13-9 overall on the season.

Lee’s reward for beating MHS was two-fold. It immediately gave the Lady Rebels a one-game advantage in first place of the District 3-6A standings, but it also put increased pressure on MHS with half of the district season left to play.

Plus, with a win against OHS and a Central loss to Abilene High today, the Lady Rebels will clinch a playoff spot after just six district games.

MHS and Lee will meet again on Feb. 10 in a game that will decide the District 3-6A champion, but for now, Lee has an edge.

And with the struggling Odessa High and San Angelo Central as its next two opponents today and Friday, respectively, Lee should be 7-0 in district play by Saturday morning.

MHS PLAYING WELL, BUT THE PRESSURE

IS ON AFTER LOSS TO LEE

There is no longer any room for error for MHS if it still wants to win the District 3-6A title. The Lady Dawgs bounced back from the loss to Lee with an easy, 82-29 win over Central on the road on Friday.

But now, MHS gets a tough test when it plays Odessa Permian at 6 p.m. today in Odessa. The Lady Panthers are likely the third-best team in the district and gave the Lady Dawgs a tough first half when the two teams met in the district opener back on Jan. 9 at Chaparral Center.

The pressure may be on for Wes Torres and his team, as one more loss could knock MHS (22-5, 4-1 in 3-6A) out of the race for the district crown. But Torres says he and his team aren’t theorizing about all the possibilities over the next five games. He says they aren’t yet looking at their rematch with Lee on Feb. 10 either. Instead, it’s a game-at-a-time approach for Torres.

“We’re not even looking that far ahead,” Torres said. “We’ve got a tough task (tonight) and Permian gave us all we could handle last time. Their place has always been a tough place to play and so we aren’t looking any further than what we’ve got next.”

Seeking to keep pace with Lee, MHS will return home to face Odessa High at 6 p.m. Friday at Chaparral Center.

GREENWOOD PICKING UP STEAM, EYEING SEMINOLE IN DISTRICT STANDINGS

Greenwood just completed a week that included two convincing District 4-4A wins.

The Rangerettes defeated Pecos, 58-41, last Tuesday, thanks to 15 points from freshman Caity Payne, along with 13 each from Amanda Bell and Layne Banks. On Friday, Greenwood smoked Monahans, 75-40. Again, Payne led the Rangerettes in scoring with 21 points.

With those two Ws in their back pocket, the Rangerettes are now a very respectable 4-1 in district play and 17-11 overall on the year.

Winning four of its first five district contests has catapulted Greenwood to second place in the 4-4A standings, trailing No. 13 Seminole, who is 5-0 in district play. The Rangerettes are now confronted with the challenge of keeping all this recent momentum up on the road for another couple games. Greenwood won’t play in its home gym again until Feb. 3.

Greenwood head coach Quint Anthony says being second-place in district right now isn’t all that bad. Pecos at 3-2 in 4-4A play, is right behind Greenwood.

“We are currently behind Seminole in district, which gives us the motivation and desire to keep improving every day,” Anthony said. “We know we can’t let up in this district or someone will sneak up on us on any night.”

The Rangerettes tip off against Fort Stockton at 6 p.m. today in Fort Stockton.

MCS FIGHTS THROUGH DIFFICULT WEEK IN TAPPS 1-4A

No. 18 Midland Christian continues to battle its way through a very challenging TAPPS 1-4A district schedule. The Lady Mustangs were 4-0 in district play until they were upended, 58-53, by Lubbock Trinity last Tuesday. MCS recovered nicely to knock off Colleyville Covenant on Friday, behind Lindsey Mills’ 16 points and 11 points each from Caroline Hammond and Blaire Netherlin.

On Saturday, MCS pummeled Grapevine Faith, 65-23, as Hammond recorded a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds.

MCS head coach Chris Ryburn said his team’s loss to Lubbock Trinity was a springboard to success for the rest of the week.

“I thought we played incredibly hard and showed a lot of fight in a close loss to two-time defending state champs Lubbock Trinity,” Ryburn said. “We learned a lot about our team and that we need to improve. I was proud of our girls for bouncing back and getting a big win Friday against Colleyville Covenant, who was undefeated in district play at the time.”

No. 10 Midland Classical Academy produced a mixed week, taking full advantage of a struggling Trinity squad last Tuesday, but then dropping a close game on the road to powerhouse and No. 4-ranked Lubbock Christian on Friday.

The Lady Knights got a game-high 18 point effort from Kristen Johnson in their 57-28 home victory over Trinity. Alissa Beattie also scored 13 points, while Delanie Griffin added 12 in that win.

Griffin led MCA with 19 points against Lubbock Christian on Friday, but MCA couldn’t overcome a 7-for-17 night at the free-throw line on the way to a 60-50 loss in Lubbock. MCA may not have done enough of the little things well to beat Lubbock Christian, but the score was an accurate reflection of the game.

“Our game against Lubbock Christian was a hard fought battle,” MCA co-head coach Carla Cunneen said. “They are a deep, talented team. We gave them a good game.”

The Lady Knights (15-6, 3-1 in TAPPS 1-3A) will now set their sights on a rematch with Abilene Christian. That game tips off at 6:30 p.m. today at MCA.

TRINITY IN SEARCH OF A DISTRICT WIN, CONFIDENCE GOING FORWARD

Trinity is currently in last place in TAPPS 1-3A with an 0-3 record and is 8-12 overall on the season. The Lady Chargers certainly aren’t being helped by playing any “winnable” district games, as they are smack in the middle of a group of four other talented, competitive teams who have left them in the dust recently.

After getting blown out by MCA last Tuesday, Trinity couldn’t muster up a better effort Friday, as it fell, 62-28 to Amarillo San Jacinto. Rebecca Young played a nice game, scoring 14 points, but it wasn’t nearly enough for the Lady Chargers, who trailed, 39-20 at half to San Jacinto.

Trinity gets a break in its difficult schedule, as it hosts Midessa at 6 p.m. today.

Trinity head coach Jeff Young doesn’t see his team’s game against Midessa in the same way however.

“We are going to treat this game (against Midessa) as we do any other game,” Young said. “We are trying to get better each time we play. The results are not there but we have gotten better in each district game.”

The Lady Chargers get back into the district grind when they face Abilene Christian at 6 p.m. Friday in Abilene.

NO. 7 GARDEN CITY FLEXING ITS MUSCLES, UNDEFEATED IN 14-A PLAY

Garden City, the No. 7 team in Class A, is cruising right along in District 14-A play. The Lady Bearkats crushed Water Valley, 62-19, last Tuesday behind 15 points from Hope Hoffman. Then on Friday, Garden City beat Sterling City, 38-15, as Holly Hoffman tallied a game-high 18 points.

The Lady Bearkats (20-4, 9-0 in District 14-A) will take on Bronte at 6:15 p.m. today in Bronte.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Bri’An Washington (Sr.), Lee -- Washington was spectacular this week for the Lady Rebels. She scored a game-high 20 points in Lee’s 57-49 win over MHS and then registered another game-high of 25 points in an 83-35 demolition of Abilene High on Friday.

HONOR ROLL

Caity Payne (Fr.), Greenwood -- Payne scored 15 points in the Rangerettes’ 58-41 win over Pecos last Tuesday. She followed that up with 21 points to lead all scorers in Greenwood’s 75-40 thrashing of Monahans on Friday.